Pages

Sunday, August 19, 2012

I recently traveled to my uncle's farm in Wisconsin. After I helped pick dozens of ears of corn, he gave me a TON of his food. I literally spent the entire next day cooking and freezing everything, so I'm behind on blogging. Can I just say that it is so cool to see where your food comes from? Three years ago on his farm, I learned how bell peppers grew. To be honest, I never really thought of it. Blame the city girl in me. Each year, my uncle's backyard farm gets bigger and bigger and despite the record hot temperatures, his farm is producing a lot of great tasting food without any pesticides. (I wish I could say the same for my table-sized porch garden that withered in Chicago's heat.)

After I left, I had 17 ears of corn. My cousin came and took a few, but I still had too much to eat. I ended up freezing a lot of it. Now's the time to freeze corn, all you farmer's market lovers! It is very easy. Here are simple directions on freezing corn.

Shuck the corn. Remove as much of the silk as you can.

Fill your biggest pot with water and a tablespoon of sugar (optional) and bring to boil. Fill your clean sink with ice and cold water.

Blanche the corn by cooking in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and immediately transferring to the sink.

Once the corn is cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off the cob.

Place in freezer bags. Enjoy year round.

And don't forget to share corn with your feathered friends! Malika (Mom's African Grey) loves corn cooked without sugar in the water - and she makes a huge mess when she eats it!